Hayden Christensen

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Hayden Christensen (born April 19, 1981) is the actor most widely known for playing the adult Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, a role previously played by Jake Lloyd.

1 Early life
2 Film career
3 Personal life
4 Partial filmography
5 External links

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Early life

Christensen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to David Christensen (a Canadian software programmer of Danish and English descent) and Alie Nelson (an American corporate speechwriter of Swedish and Italian descent). He has three siblings: Tove, Hejsa and Kaylen. Raised outside Toronto, Ontario, Hayden attended Unionville High School in Unionville, Ontario, Canada. He was discovered when his older sister Hejsa, a former trampoline champion, was shopping around for an agent after she landed a Pringles commercial.

He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He acquired his initial fame starring in Fox's Family Network TV series, Higher Ground (2000), showing off his acting talents as a teen who was sexually molested by his stepmother, then turning to drugs in his despair.

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Film career

Image:Rots32.jpg While Christensen's critically praised portrayal of a misunderstood teenager in Life as a House (2001) earned him Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations as well as the National Board of Review's award for Breakthrough Performance of the Year, the performance didn't receive widespread public notice. However, his star-making role in Attack of the Clones (2002) made him an A-list star. Subsequently, he garnered good reviews as journalist Stephen Glass in 2003's Shattered Glass. Finally, he received favorable responses in the last Star Wars prequel Revenge of the Sith (2005), where he played a more mature, insecure Anakin gradually converting to the Dark Side.

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Personal life

Christensen played competitive AAA hockey and tennis in Canada before giving both up for acting. The 6'2" actor loves architecture, lasagne, pizza and is allergic to bees.

Since Attack of the Clones, he has been persistently dogged by rumors and tabloid speculations. First, he denied that he was romantically involved with co-star Natalie Portman.

He was named one of People Magazine's "50 Hottest Bachelors" (2005) and was chosen as one of Teen People's "25 Hottest Stars under 25" in 2002 and 2005.

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